Vina Morales

Unlike many superstars in the Philippines, Vina Morales is not only an actress but is also a multi-award-winning singer. What distinguishes her from many other superstars is that she has received accolades from the entertainment fields of television, film, and music. Born on October 17, 1975, as Sharon Magdayao, Morales began her career as a child actress in the Philippines making her debut in 1986, for the film Nakagapos na puso (1986) with her idol Sharon Cuneta. Through her natural acting ability, she never lost sight of the first talent that got her discovered, her singing. After performing numerous Filipino standards and Carpenters covers, in 1995, Morales released her self-titled debut album, "Easy to Love". Mostly eschewing the middle-of-the-road arrangements of her contemporaries for more energetic numbers, Morales' first full-length was considered to be a promising musical start. A year later, Morales was selected as the Best Female Recording Artist at the Awit Awards, the Philippines' equivalent of the Grammys; Morales' 1999 album "No Limits" won the Best Album of the Year at the Awit Awards. In 2001, Morales was then offered 8-million PHP (Philippine Pesos) to appear in an ad for a hard liquor alcohol beverage, however she turned down the offer. In January 2001, she nearly lost her life when the vehicle she was driving in had collided into the back of a cement mixer in Quezon City, Philippines. Fortunately, she survived the accident and only suffered minor injuries. In the summer of 2001, Morales then toured the U.S. with the singing group, "The Hunks", her co-hosts on the weekly variety series ASAP (1995), one of the highest-rated television programs in the Philippines on the ABS-CBN network. After six years during her U.S. multi-concert tour which began from 2002 until early 2007, she returned to television on the ABS-CBN program, Maria Flordeluna (2007) where she played the main title character's mother, Elvira. Then on August 12, 2007 she won the first ever Ikon Asean awards competition, a regional musical showcase to recognize talent from prominent Asian countries in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Finally on April 25, 2009 she became a mother to her first born daughter, Ceana Lee, from her last boyfriend Cedric Lee, a Chinese-Filipino businessman. After taking a short hiatus from showbiz, she returned to television in 2010 on the ABS-CBN program, Agua bendita (2010) and the following year in 2011 in her first antagonist role in Nasaan ka, Elisa? (2011). In 2012, she turned down a role in a television soap to star in the Broadway musical Rock of Ages as Sherrie Christian. She returned to television in 2013 with May isang pangarap (2013) and later cast in the primetime series Maria Mercedes (2013) that same year. Then in 2014, she made her movie comeback with Robin Padilla by starring alongside him in the film, Bonifacio: Ang unang pangulo (2014).